ADSW x Polar Seminar at KU

January 16, 2025

Brief: The UAE, a long-standing supporter of global sustainability initiatives, and through the newly launched Emirates Polar Program, has collaborated with the Arctic Circle to bring forth a Polar Dialogue, held in Abu Dhabi for the very first time. This event was held during the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and aimed at building the momentum generated by the Polar Summit 2023, and the Arctic Circle’s custodianship of the Polar Dialogue as a continual effort in 2024 and beyond. The Polar Dialogue, Chaired by H.E. Katrin Jakobsdottir, former Prime Minister of Iceland (2017-2024), has established itself as a convener and a facilitator of Polar research cooperation.

The Polar Dialogue brough together key local and international stakeholders, composed of mainly policymakers and scientists, to discuss scientific challenges and cooperation in the context of the Arctic, Antarctic, and the Himalaya – Third Pole region.

Amongst the attendees were H.E. Mariam AlMheiri, Chair of the Emirates Polar Program Steering Committee and of the International Affairs Office at the Presidential Court, Chairman of the Arctic Circle, H.E. Olafur Ragnar Grimsson, H.E. Katrin Jakobsdottir, former Prime Minister of Iceland (2017-2024), H.E. Prof. Ebrahim AlHajri, President, Khalifa University, representatives from ICIMOD, University of Greenland, Icelandic Meterological Office, Alfred Wegener Institute Helmholtz Centre for Polar and Marine Research, Khalifa University, United Arab Emirates University, and more.